Ancient Egypt Gods
What does the Summer Solstice, Cancer and the Ancient Kemetic Egyptian God Khepri have in common?
Transformation…
The Egyptian Connection
In Egyptian astronomy, the constellation of Cancer was seen not as a crab or turtle, but as a scarab beetle – a creature closely associated with the daily cycle of the sun.
The ancient Egyptians saw the similarity between the scarab beetle pushing balls of dung across the desert and the sun being pushed through the sky, past the horizon, and into the underworld, only to emerge again the next day.
Thus, the scarab was associated with birth, death, and regeneration, as was the solar deity Khepri, who embodied this process.
Like the Ancient Sumerian God of Wisdom (Enki), Khepri was associated with the creation or shaping of the world.
He was also considered to be an aspect of the sun’s cycle: the morning sun which rises up from beneath the horizon and out of the underworld.
As we transition away from mental activity and clamor of busy the Gemini Twins, we enter the emotional waters of Cancer the Crab.
Cancer marks the first day of Summer Solstice.
Not only that, but Cancer also is the dawn of summer.
Many cultures have celebrated this time of the year because it is the return of mighty Leo and the Sun’s full power.
It is no wonder that the Lust card pops up to signify it’s returning.
Anyone accustomed to the tarot is pretty well familiar with the Strength Card.
But In Aleister Crowley’s Book of Thoth Tarot Deck, the Strength card is known as Lust.
Life comes to bloom during the fruitful time of Summer.
The Lust card embodies the full realm of that bloom.
In the Tarot, the roman numeral XI is The Lust Card.
X being 10 and I being 1.
10’s represent beginnings and completion.
The 1 is a beginning and 0 being completion.
When the two are paired together, they take on a different role.
10’s represent beginnings at a higher level in the cycle of things.
Such as the Wheel of Fortune card who’s number is X.
The Lust card takes it one step further. It is the upper cycle of things past the Wheel.
It is one more thing on the Wheel. Lust is the beginning of something new beyond the Wheel of Life.
When the Wheel of Fortune is represented by 10, Lust is the added substance or from which gives life to the Wheel of Life.
And that is Lust.
While many will sneer and cringe get at the very name of this card and its implication, it is only because of cultural prejudice or if ignorance.
You see, just is nothing more than passion.
A fiery passion that engulfs and enflames the senses.
Lust is a drive that is fueled by creative urges inherently apart of all life and nature.
It’s no wonder, the Lust card is ruled by the symbol of fire.
Anyone who has felt the touch of true love or passion knows exactly what this card is about.
Lust is the engine of life.
That which makes life perpetuate, persist, and thrive.
One could say that love is the fuel and list the driving force.
In this fiery and colorful card, we see several symbols and many messages.
First, we see a woman rising in too of a great beast.
But not just any woman, the woman is completely naked.
She rides bareback on a mighty beast of an animal which is a fiery Lion.
In the olden days, it was inappropriate for women to ride a horse or animal unless they were riding side-saddle.
The implication is that she might be jostled too much from the constant movement and pounding caused by riding her great steed.
Either way, she does not seem to be concerning herself with the trivial details we would be trying to assess.
She is simply having a very good time.
If that is the case, then it may explain why the woman in the picture seems to be overly enjoying herself.
Actually, it looks as if she is overly drunk or intoxicated by this great beast of a steed.
Second, we notice in her left hand, she holds the reigns of a ribbon of this great beast.
If we were to interpret this, it would seem as if she has total control over the animal.
Or it could indicate that the control that she has is non at all.
Could she be going along with the parade of passion with no care what so ever?
Does it elude to the illusion of control?
Next, we have the beast. A great and mighty powerful creature.
One that by any other means, might scare the bejeezus out of most mortal men.
The animal is fully walking in motion in an inflamed state.
Not only is this behemoth physically massive, but it is on fire as well.
That’s really gotta make a girl hot and bothered!
In the face of the lion, we see several faces.
Indicating this is a multifaceted creature with more than one nature.
It is a combination of animal and man and elemental of fire all wound in one.
It is said that in Alchemy, fire is used as one of the elements to purify and reduce a substance to its base core.
And from that core, and that which you what is left, is its purity.
If that is true, then this is a rite of purification.
To burn away all that is impure in order to attain the highest possible form the three: Her true passion, the Lion’s true nature, and the true nature of the men.
If that does not say it all, we also have the Lions Serpent Tail. At the rear end if the Lion, behind the woman, we see the face of a lion on the serpent-like body of the Lion’s tail.
Lions are representative of the sun, fire, and passion.
While Serpents, snakes, and dragons, are representative of old ancient wisdom, knowledge, and power.
If that is the case then this beast represents the embodiment of a very ancient, old, and powerful piece of a creature.
Some would call it the beast and she the whore.
Regardless, it represents the unleashing and unlocking of a very potent and powerful archetype of Spiritual manifestation and power.
Walls are used for guarding and protecting.
They are used for keeping things in or out.
One could say the lustful woman and her great beast are on the outside.
However, who is to say, they are not on the inside trying to get out? Locked behind the wall of man and time?
Possibly this is symbolic of the great veil which separates the higher mysteries of heaven from earth.
And finally, in the woman’s right hand, we see her hand hoisted high into the air.
Holding or lifting a seemingly big and bulging vessel. The vessel seems full of something.
However, we don’t know what.
Once again, if we look deeper into the card, we see the bulge erupting, shooting, or manifesting something into the upper airs.
That which was hung below has exploded upward into a magnificence.
Finding union with the upper air and finding new life.
We see this new life manifest in the dozens of swirling snakes and Serpents emanating from the point of eruption.
This act has thus created new life and sent it off into spiraling in a multitude of directions.
In conclusion, the list card is about passion, ancient knowledge and wisdom, and the birth of new life erupting from the Alchemy of life.
It is Life and the driving engine and mechanism underneath it all.
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